The Christmas Party
by crazierthanu
Summary: This is an Outtake for Love, Unexpected...it answers a question about Edward's past...it's already in Chapter 16, but am posting separately here. Enjoy?


Disclaimer: SM, Twilight, yours, I get it...

This is an Outtake (consider it a Bonus for putting up with me so far) from Love, Unexpected...an answer to a question about Edward's past. I wrote it as part of a Christmas One-Shot for Southern Fan Fiction Review.

BPOV

I couldn't stand the way he talked anymore. That accent drove me insane. The

vernacular he used was equally as distasteful to my ears.

"Hey, babe, how was your day?" was my usual greeting to Edward. He seemed to

enjoy it. Land knows why. He was such an idiot.

"It was brutal. I couldn't understand what the director wanted out of me," he

would drone on and on.

"Those directors are always pricks, Edward. You know that. You should just

forget about it as soon as it dribbles out of their mouths," I encouraged him half-heartedly.

Something I seemed to need to do incessantly these days.

He wrapped his arms around me. I faked a smile. I was an actress, I could do

that easily. He bought it.

"Bella, I love how I can always count on you to make sense of my day. You keep me sane," he was oblivious to my total and deep-down lack of interest.

I didn't have a current project on the go, so I was mostly home whenever he would arrive. I just couldn't get away from this prison due to my own crazy stardom life. Those crazy paparazzi would be lurking everywhere - in the bushes and behind parked cars. Hell, they were even in moving cars if I happened to be out for a random drive. They were fucking insane, taking their lives as well as my own into their hands.

"..and the girl who's supposed to be my love interest…she's like a limp wet rag…" he continued snapping me out of my wandering thoughts, in the monotone which he could deliver so effectively. Shit. What the hell was he on about now?

"Oh, Edward…that's the worst! Who picked her – the director? Is she fucking him or her?" I feigned interest in what was oozing out of his boring-ass mouth.

"Yeah, probably…it's wearing me out, trying to pull something worthwhile out of her, but her acting is honestly so shitty.." he seemed to want to continue boring me out of my fucking mind.

Edward then went to grab something out of the fridge, in which there really wasn't anything decent to choose from. He settled on a wedge of brick cheese, and 3-day-old jambalaya take-out from the local Mexican restaurant in the Hills. He was an animal. It made me want to hurl.

I concentrated on reading the celebrity magazine which was currently on the stands, which had his picture prominently on the cover. They were speculating on our future, our wedding, our family plans, our eventual breakup.

Yah, I knew it was going to happen eventually. Only Edward didn't. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity. I didn't really know how or when, but I knew it would just hit me spur of the moment-like. I didn't want to hurt him necessarily, but I was tired. I didn't know how he couldn't see what our relationship had become - how my reactions to him had changed.

After the evening news, which he always watched, Edward had a good stretch, yawned and hinted at something more when he went to bed. He had to be kidding, I thought.

But then memories flooded through my mind to what our love-making used to be like. I found myself a little bit aroused and curious as to whether it could somehow be that again.

Truth be told, I was bored. We hadn't had sex in I think 3 weeks due to his exhaustive work schedule. And – I was bored out of my mind.

He was waiting for me standing by the bed, naked, with a smirk on his face, running his hands through his unruly mop of bronzed hair. I had to admit he was a fine, fine specimen. God had not been stingy with blessing him with perfectly panti-dropping gorgeous features.

If only I wasn't thoroughly digusted and annoyed by him.

I'm not sure when it started or why, but incrementally every cadence, every nuance, every syllable irritated me to the extreme.

The last time I could remember him not being fucking annoying was at the studio's attempt at a team Christmas party last year.

It was for a movie we were both on contract for – a teen-age love story. We actually were the headliners and everyone suspected that we were getting it on in real life as well. We were in all the tabloids every week but we were bound by contract to not reveal any real life truths to the public. It was some type of hype-building for the movie thing. The studio heads didn't want to lose any revenues from future movie-goers, aka the teenage girls who drooled after Edward.

The party was being held in a private club in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was close to where we were filming at that time. Almost the whole ensemble and crew were able to make it, with very few having to miss it due to scheduling conflicts. That was rare.

The one person I wasn't too keen on seeing there was Lauren. I couldn't put my finger on it but the way she looked at Edward had my senses on high alert. He seemed to not take any notice of her. Or so I had thought. Just after the main course Edward disappeared. I watched him leave in the direction of the washrooms and really didn't think too much of it.

I was busy chatting it up with some of the extras who had also been allowed to attend this shin-dig and then some of the producers, writers and the director, so hadn't realized how long he'd been gone.

There were also so many people milling about that I didn't notice the one person I should have kept closer tabs on – Lauren. My keen eyes began scanning the room.

My mind was slowly realizing that one and one…made two. Fuck.

I waded my way through the crowd, many of whom tried to stop me to chat about the shoot, and I rudely ignored them, desperate to find them. I first headed to the hallway where the washrooms were and even walked straight into the men's room, but no Edward, no Lauren in the women's either.

I was getting desperate and now panting in desperation in my quest to discover their whereabouts, when the crowd burst into a unified chorus of "Jingle Bells".

Fuck that!

I nearly tripped on the uneven wooden floor in my Laboutin killer heels to try to find a tryst accommodating room. Instinct drove me on.

The sane part of my brain knew that he'd never, ever given me reason to think he would be unfaithful, but just the memory of Lauren's face as she raked him over, spurred me onward.

Just as I was about to climb the dangerously steep stairway up to the main lobby, Edward was sauntering downward.

"Hey, babe!" he smiled at me and waved his hand indicating to wait and I did. I waited at the bottom feeling like a heel for even suspecting that he would ever dare to fool around on me.

As he reached the last step, I reached out for him and caught him with both arms. I buried my face in his chest and that's when I noticed a tell-tale sign. It was a hint of lipstick along the edge of the collar. The colour wasn't even close to mine. I didn't even own any that colour.

Inside I cringed. I couldn't ask. I couldn't even move. I was frozen.

"Hey – what's the matter with you?" Edward pulled me along despite the unwillingness of my feet.

My mind was reeling with the blast of reality. I couldn't comprehend what was staring me in the face. On his collar. Deception. Infidelity.

My heart turned to stone in that instant. Suddenly every single breath, every single twitch, every single glance was a lie.

As we headed back to our table for dessert my brain searched for some way to cope with what was now my truth. I sat beside him and he put his hand on my knee under the table. I cringed inwardly thinking how vile his hand appeared to me now. I really just wanted to run, screaming from that place- far, far away.

There were a few more carols being sung before I could be released from my silent, internal agony.

"Deck the Halls" now reverberated in my head as one more assault to my consciousness. After the sing-song the present exchange began.

It was the stupid kind where everyone picked a number out of a box and then in order picked a present from under the tree and then the next person in queue would either take it from you or pick another wrapped present from under said tree. It was apparently supposed to be hilariously funny, but I was numb.

My number was 26. Edward had to nudge me to come back to the here and now to go either steal someone else's gift or pick another one. I was indifferent so I picked from under the tree. Opening it I saw that it was cranberry-scented candle with a tartan ribbon tied around it to make it more festive.

I politely waved it around so that everyone could see it and smiled. That was about the most difficult act I would have to perform that night. My mind searched for a way out of this mess. I gazed at Edward, not believing how perfectly normal he could behave having done what I thought he had done just minutes prior. I wanted to slap him. I wanted to tear his hair out. I wanted to disappear.

The torture was only beginning as I had to pretend to be amused by the hilarity of the game. A few people had their present 'stolen' and switched with tackier ones. People were convulsing with laughter during the entire event. I pasted on a fake smile and they bought it. They were all too inebriated to really notice anything out of the ordinary.

Edward wasn't behaving in any differently, so I kept my mouth shut.

As I happened to turn my eyes toward the stairs, I saw Lauren slowly descending it, her long slender legs making quite the impression on anyone who happened to glance that way. Scanning the room I noticed quite a few males and females transfixed on that particular sight. Then I looked at Edward, who just happened to flick his gaze that way then quickly changed tactics and concentrated on the game.

If I hadn't witnessed both of them returning through the same staircase within minutes of each other, I'd have thought I was crazy. Edward was as attentive toward me as ever.

I had a decision to make on the spot and that was whether I make a deal of what I was suspecting, or ignore it. I chose to ignore it for the time being. I just had too much to lose if I ended it with him. I'm sure even the studio heads would make me at least keep up pretenses. They had a lot riding on the suspected romance between us. It was all about the almighty dollar in the end.

So that Christmas was devoid of any real excitement for me. I made all the right gestures and comments and Edward went along with everything. We drove home in silence. We were both exhausted for different reasons.

The months went by and I couldn't shake the nagging reminders about that night. I caught glimpses of Lauren, always with one hand touching Edward in any picture in the tabloids. It was infuriating. But each evening before he would come home I forced myself to calm the fuck down. Performance was key. I still wasn't ready to leave him.

That evening as I saw Edward my hormones took over and I made myself shove the hatred I had been feeling for so long to the very far recesses of my mind. I just wanted to fuck him one last time.

EPOV

Another fucking day at the studio lot. The director was an asshole. The producer was a mind-sucking leech who couldn't let go of the reins for one bloody second. And the co-star of the movie, Lauren, was the biggest whore this side of the hemisphere.

She was always in my face every damn second she had free. I couldn't wait until this flick was over and done with. The damned papp's were all over us, making it seem like we were getting cozy all the time. I'd caught a few of the pictures that extras would leave lying around. I had a whole whack of free time between takes sometimes.

I really missed having Bella as my leading lady. We worked like a fine-oiled machine, knowing each other's nuances and thoughts, playing off each other to perfection and true to life. The directors always loved us. We apparently were easy on their nerves. We got the job done in the most efficient manner.

Bella and I had also gotten into a comfortable routine with living with each other. We had no need to constantly be wooing or cooing. It was bloody nice to be in a secure relationship in this fucking crazy business. I was so keenly aware of that fact. I knew how rare it was, given our ages. She was only twenty and I was twenty-three.

On my way home I usually picked up some take-out food for us, but I was so knackered that I skipped it. I'd hoped that something in the fridge wouldn't be crawling with nastiness that I could just quickly make a meal out of.

Bella was very attentive and listened to me ramble off about my shitty day. God, I loved her for that. Just having someone who understood exactly what I was saying helped probably more than any psychiatrist would have.

After eating, I eventually regained my second wind and suggested to Bella that we needed to attend to some important business – in the bedroom. Wink. I waited, nude, by the bed.

She took her sweet time. I think to make me suffer and long for her just a little bit more.

Finally she slowly entered the room. She began to undress as she took one agonizingly slow step after the other.

First she pulled her pink ruffled shirt over her head throwing it behind her, leaving just her pale pink demi-cup bra.

Then she began to unbutton her jeans and pull down the zipper, stepping out of them equally slow.

That left her standing a mere few feet from me with just her thong and bra I was instantly hard.

My breathing accelerated and I couldn't stay immobile one more second. I rushed at her, taking her into my arms and crushing my lips onto hers. She was warm and after searching under her thong and finding her wet as well, I yanked that sucker off and began to unclasp her bra simultaneously.

She responded by grabbing my hard-on with her tiny warm nubile fingers with a fair amount of force. It made me inwardly gasp.

Something about the way she was handling me that night was a wee bit off. I didn't know exactly how and I ceased to care as she began to stroke me purposefully.

Continuing to rub each other we neared fever pitch and before anything could happen to bring it to a premature end, we jumped onto the bed and assumed our positions to help us to reach our end release.

Bella's favourite style was achieved by forcing me to lie down with her riding on top of me.

She took over rubbing her clit while she slowly lowered herself onto my throbbing erection.

The feeling of her wet warmth was sublime so I closed my eyes and just let the experience wash over me. She began to lift herself up and lower herself building up speed excruciatingly slowly. I was panting for more.

"Please, Bella…faster…" I pleaded with her pussy.

"Ssshh…Edward…" she commanded, expecting me to instantly obey. I did.

Every time she would begin to slightly increase her pace, she would then suddenly nearly come to a full and complete halt. This left me in agonizing pain after nearly coming several times and she stopped me at the brink.

How the hell was she able to gauge that so expertly? She was effectively blue-balling me several times over. I groaned in protest at every infraction. She would just giggle inwardly.

Having been brought to the brink numerous times I hungrily grabbed her hips with both hands to keep her from executing her newest modus operandi once again.

I began thrusting into her relentlessly until I found my release.

It was then that I finally opened my eyes to find her staring at me with an expression I had not seen her use while love-making before. I was confused. I didn't know why she looked that way. It was completely impassive devoid of emotion.

"What's wrong, babe?" was my brilliant response to her indifferent gaze.

She just shook her head for a long time looking as if she were answering unspoken questions in her mind. She wouldn't utter a syllable. Eventually she just began to sob uncontrollably. She collapsed onto the bed facing away from me.

"Please talk to me, Bella," I continued to try to discover the reason for this outburst to no avail.

After she seemed to have quite recovered from her outburst she sat up and stood up to walk over to the bathroom. She didn't utter a word, nor did she look at me after that. I was confounded by her.

I waited for her to come out but she stayed in there so long.

I finally got up to knock on the door. No answer. I kept trying to reach her, to get some kind of response. I couldn't just let her stay in there alone choosing to slide down the door to sitting in front of it. I could hear faint whimpering on the other side of the wooden door.

"Babe, please…" I implored her to respond to my pleas.

I heard her clear her throat and finally reply in a feeble voice, "I'm ok…don't worry."

It wasn't much but at least she was communicating with me. I could finally breathe. I then heard rustling of her robe and the door slowly became ajar. She exited timidly past me as if she hadn't even seen me crouched by the door.

I slowly rose gaping after her. I instinctively knew that trying to talk at that moment was futile.

She turned toward me, smiled a hauntingly odd smile. She then turned around to walk out of the room.

The silence was eerie. I should have known that it was way too weird but I just couldn't process anything. I figured that it was some kind of woman thing and that I should keep the fuck away from her for a while. For as long as she wanted. Pressing these things was sometimes so the wrong thing to do.

I laid down on the bed and against my will fell asleep.

Slowly coming out of my bleary state, I found it difficult to open my eyes. They felt swollen and they stung – bad. My senses were incrementally becoming awake. My ears were filtering sounds of sirens and yelling off in the distance, muffled by walls. My nose was assaulted by unbearably nasty odors. Then my brain filtered through the list of possible causes.

It was smoke? Smoke!

What the hell!

I then tried to jump out of the bed and was met with a wall of thick, black smoke. I fell to the ground and began to crawl, feeling my way with my hands, not having the ability to see anything even if my eyes hadn't been useless.

As I crawled hopefully toward the front door the voices and sirens sounded closer.

I did eventually get to the front door, coughing manically by that time. I touched the door knob carefully having the presence of mind to check if it was hot. Well it actually didn't make a whole lot of sense as I couldn't feel anything that would be resembling fire close to the door and it probably wasn't coming from the outside.

As I opened the door I collapsed and passed out.

The next time I woke up I had bandages covering my eyes and there was silence. There was no odor of smoke either. The air smelled fresh although it hurt like hell to breathe. I began to cough hard.

The nurse came over to put the oxygen mask on my face and proceeded to recount my past 24 hours back to me, seeing as I'd been unconscious for it.

She said the firemen and police had deduced that Bella had set a fire in the living room and fled.

That was quite the bombshell. I was stunned and began to hyperventilate. The nurse knew exactly what to do to help and had me calmed down quickly, with the help of some sedatives.

My mind was reeling. Bella. Why? Bella? WHY!

Show me...as never before...the DRILL!

A special hug and thanks to my beta for this special chapter, Darci (MsRobPattzMasen), my BFF. Luvs ya hard, bb!


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